The Chimera's End
Bellerophon urged Pegasus into a frantic gallop through the sky, racing toward the Chimera. The monster’s trail was unmistakable, a straight and ugly scar leading directly toward the city that had commissioned him—Lycia.
The ground where the beast had passed was brutally gouged by its razor-sharp claws. The grass and trees along the path had withered and died, poisoned by the venom dripping from the serpent head’s fangs.
With a sharp snort, he drove Pegasus harder, speeding toward the outskirts of Lycia. But the closer they drew to the city, the clearer the screams of people and the thunderous crash of collapsing buildings became. Had he arrived too late despite pushing the winged horse with everything he had? Which direction—
“Kyaaaaah!”
“The monster! It’s a monster! Lady Athena, save us!”
“Everyone, this way! Run!”
The temple of Athena on the city’s edge was engulfed in roaring flames. The beautiful statue modeled after the Goddess of Wisdom lay shattered in half, scattered across the floor. Panicked citizens fleeing for their lives and heavily armed soldiers desperately trying to contain the blaze turned the entire area into pure chaos.
Whoosh—!
“That insane fucking monster!”
“Lady Athena… forgive us for failing to protect your temple…”
“It’s still spewing fire from inside the temple… our arrows couldn’t even scratch it!”
“We have to get in there somehow, but it’s impossible!”
“Damn these flames—they never let up…!”
Once again, a violent burst of fire erupted from the center of the temple. Bellerophon circled the burning building on Pegasus, searching, but the beast was nowhere in sight. It was clearly inside. To enter the narrow confines of the temple, however, he would have to dismount. And without Pegasus, he was just an ordinary man. Could he really defeat that monster alone?
Without the winged horse… could he truly slip past that steel-like hide and drive a spear down its throat?
While Bellerophon hovered in the air atop his celestial steed, lost in thought, countless desperate eyes below spotted him. People facing the threat of the monster clung to any thread of hope they could find.
“Hey, you! Did the gods send you? That damned beast hasn’t come out of the temple since it went in!”
“A horse with wings…? Have the gods sent a messenger?”
“Please, whoever you are up there—save Lycia!”
The hero ground his teeth as he looked down at the soot-covered, horribly burned survivors. Then a familiar, urgent voice reached his ears.
It was King Iobates, visible among the soldiers surrounding the temple.
“Bellerophon! It is clear the gods favor you after all!”
“Your Majesty Iobates?! How did you come all the way here—”
“When a temple in the land I rule stands in danger, what kind of king would not come himself to deal with it!”
Iobates was the very man who, believing the letter from his son-in-law, had sent Bellerophon to his death. But the moment he saw the hero riding the winged horse, he realized his mistake and called out to him.
“Bellerophon! Come down here for a moment!”
“Yes? Understood!”
As soon as Bellerophon dismounted, the king thrust a letter into his hands. His eyes were filled with guilt and regret.
“This… this is…”
“Yes. The truth is, the letter my son-in-law sent… asked me to kill you because you had tried to seduce his wife…”
“So ordering me to slay the Chimera… This is all a misunderstanding! I never—”
“How could a hero blessed enough by the gods to receive such a divine task ever covet another man’s wife? Only now do I see my grave error. I am truly sorry…”
King Iobates stepped close and placed a hand on Bellerophon’s shoulder. The old king’s eyes met the hero’s directly.
“I have done you a terrible wrong… but will you still deal with that monster for us?”
“…!”
“I beg you. You are the only hero we have here.”
The sight of a king bowing his head and pleading to a commoner left the surrounding soldiers stunned. Bellerophon bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, then dropped to one knee before the king and shouted.
“Of course! The gods gave me Pegasus so that I might slay that beast from the beginning… I will fulfill my duty!”
Though the quest had begun from a place of ambition and desire for glory, he was still a hero. Seeing the goddess’s temple in flames and people dying before his eyes made his heart burn with resolve. And the final blow was the king—setting aside his royal pride to bow his head for the sake of his people.
Without waiting for a reply, Bellerophon seized a spear weighted with lead and strode into the burning temple.
Step. Step.
Without the divine winged horse the gods had granted him, armed with nothing but a single lead-weighted spear, he was walking to his death. He would probably burn alive in terrible agony. But a hero…
“Bellerophon!”
“Please… come back safely…”
“May the protection of Athena be with you!”
A true hero is one who does not retreat even in the face of certain death.
Pushing through the flames, Bellerophon entered the temple and found himself surrounded by an inferno. It was as if the lion-headed beast had gone completely berserk—the scorching heat pressed in from every direction.
“Ugh…”
Thick black smoke, swirling ash, fleeing people, and raging fire blinded him. Where was the monster? Where—
Deeper inside the temple, he finally spotted the Chimera staring back at him with glowing red eyes. He immediately dove behind a marble pillar.
Whoosh—!
He barely avoided the jet of flame the beast fired the instant it saw him, but the environment was overwhelmingly against him. Even without a direct hit, the heat was unbearable. Every breath scorched his lungs. The divine winged horse waited outside, and there were no allies within the temple. It was a truly hopeless situation, his life hanging by a thread.
Whoosh—!
“Gah!”
He threw himself aside again, swallowing a groan. He couldn’t keep dodging forever. Walking such a razor’s edge would eventually lead to a fall. His breathing was already ragged, and his back felt like it was on fire. Had the flames merely grazed him?
The monster’s growl filled him with dread.
Grrrrr—
The Chimera was slowly stalking closer, searching for the hero hidden behind the pillar. Its reaction speed far surpassed his own. Even if he threw the spear perfectly into its mouth, without the height and momentum of Pegasus, the flames would melt it in midair. There was only one way—drive the spear directly into its maw with his own hands.
But then he would be swallowed by the enraged monster’s fire…
Grrrr—
Leaning against the scorching marble pillar, Bellerophon squeezed his eyes shut. Ever since he was young, he had dreamed of becoming a hero—and beyond that, a god. He had planned to go to Thebes as the oracle had decreed, but after accidentally killing his brother, he had been forced to seek refuge in another kingdom.
There were rumors that in Thebes the gods themselves would train you, granting divine blessings and weapons while subjecting you to the harshest trials. Even if only half the rumors were true, those who passed the tests there undoubtedly became heroes.
Did that mean he, who had never reached Thebes, could never become a hero?
Thud.
The Chimera’s footsteps drew closer. If it found him now and breathed fire, he was dead. Bellerophon clenched his teeth. In his mind flashed the images of people burning alive… and the sight of King Iobates lowering his head to him. And deeper still, the dream he had cherished for so long—the burning ambition to achieve a miraculous feat and ascend to godhood.
He shot to his feet.
Growl!
Bellerophon didn’t wait for the approaching monster. He charged straight at it. The Chimera opened its jaws wide, and a torrent of searing flame surged forth—but he did not stop.
Whoosh—!
“Even without going to Thebes, I, Bellerophon, will prove that I can become a hero!!!”
His entire body was swallowed by roaring flames. Hot. Hot. Hot. Too hot! His skin, his hands, his arms, his legs—his whole body was burning. His hardened muscles melted. Strength fled from the hand gripping the spear. His eyes felt as if they were melting away; he could no longer see. His legs screamed in agony.
But a hero does not release his weapon until the very end.
Thud.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!!
Until the spear he had aimed found its mark in the monster’s throat.
For a while, the monster’s agonized roars echoed from within the temple before finally dying down. The flames subsided. The soldiers surrounding the building brought water to extinguish the remaining embers and cautiously entered.
Then the soldiers at the front discovered something.
“This is—!”
“Your Majesty…! You must see this!”
Once it was deemed safe, King Iobates entered and found two corpses in the center of the temple. The Chimera lay dead with a spear driven through its open mouth, black smoke still rising from its jaws. And standing before it was a charred silhouette—presumably Bellerophon—frozen in the act of driving that same spear into the monster’s throat.
The tragic yet noble sight left everyone in solemn silence.
“He never let go of the spear until the very end…”
“Your Majesty, it appears the lead attached to the spearhead melted in the beast’s flames and flowed down its throat.”
“Molten lead pouring into its stomach… even a monster like that would have no choice but to die…”
“He was a true hero…”
From the circumstances, it seemed the flames the Chimera breathed had melted the lead on the spear embedded in its mouth, allowing the searing liquid to flow into its belly and kill it from within.
“Mm… Recover Bellerophon’s body.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Crumble…
The moment the soldiers touched the blackened figure that had once been Bellerophon—too ruined to even call a corpse—it collapsed into nothing but ash.
Snort…
Pegasus, who had entered at some point, let out a short, mournful cry as if grieving his rider’s death.
King Iobates stared at the dead Chimera and the ashes of the hero for a long time before speaking in a heavy voice.
“…Erect a statue of Bellerophon, the hero who saved our Lycia.”
“Yes! At once!”
“May the grace of Pluto be with the hero.”
“Athena…”
May he receive his due reward, at least in the afterlife.